About Us - Permian Strategic Partnership

Learn more about what the PSP has accomplished over the past year, and how the PSP and its partners are working to fulfill its mission in communities across the Permian Basin.

Our Mission

To strengthen and improve the quality of life for Permian Basin residents by partnering with federal, state, and local leaders to develop and implement strategic plans that foster superior schools, safer roads, quality healthcare, affordable housing and a trained workforce. The companies involved with the PSP will bring people, expertise, resources and leadership to develop solutions in partnership with local leaders and communities.

Our Members

Permian Strategic Partnership

By the Numbers

expected impact by 2025

Donald L. Evans

Chairman
Donald L. Evans was appointed as the 34th U.S. Secretary of the Commerce in 2001 by President George W. Bush, where he served until 2005. He was a strong advocate for the free-enterprise system, free and fair-trade agreements, and responsible corporate stewardship. To encourage job creation, Evans worked closely with President Bush to reduce taxes, open markets for American goods and services, and promote a level playing field abroad. A trusted friend and advisor for more than four decades, Evans worked on President Bush’s successful Texas gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998 and served as chairman of the 2000 Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign.

Born in Houston, Texas, Evans attended the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1969 and an M.B.A. in 1973. During school breaks, he worked in a Texas steel mill. In 1975, Evans moved to Midland, Texas and began his career as a “roughneck” working on oil rigs for Tom Brown, Inc., a large independent energy company. Ten years later, he became CEO of the company, a role he held until being tapped by President Bush to lead the Commerce Department. From 2007-2018, Evans served as the Chairman of Energy Future Holdings Company, formerly TXU Energy.

In 1995, Evans was appointed to the University of Texas Board of Regents, serving as Chairman from 1997 to 2001. Evans was also a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation for eight years. In 2002, he was named a University of Texas Distinguished Engineering Alumnus, inducted into the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame, and named a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin. In 2014, Evans was inducted as a Texas Business Hall of Fame Legend and was a 2019 inductee of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.

Currently, Evans serves as Chairman of the George W. Bush Foundation, as Chairman of the Permian Strategic Partnership, and as senior advisor at Energy Capital Partners. Evans is immediate past Chairman of the Board of Visitors of MD Anderson an continues to serve on the board. Evans has remained active in his hometown community of Midland, Texas and serves on the Midland Memorial Hospital Board of Governors.

His passions in life are his faith, family, and friends. Don and his wife, Penelope Slade Evans, have a family of 6 children and 7 grandchildren. They reside in Midland, Texas.

Tracee Bentley

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Tracee Bentley is the President and CEO of Permian Strategic Partnership, a collaboration between local communities and nineteen oil and gas companies operating in the Permian Basin. With extensive experience and leadership within the energy industry, Bentley is a tremendous asset to this first-of-its-kind partnership that aims to strengthen and improve the quality of life for Permian residents.

Before joining PSP as its first CEO, Bentley was the Executive Director of the Colorado Petroleum Council, a division of the American Petroleum Institute, focusing on state and local policy and supporting the development of Colorado’s energy resources.

Before joining the Colorado Petroleum Council in March 2015, Bentley served in several key policy positions, including Legislative Director & Senior Advisor on Energy and Agriculture and Deputy Director of the Colorado Energy Office for Governor John Hickenlooper. Before Bentley’s tenure with the Hickenlooper administration, she was a founding Principal of a bi-partisan lobbying firm that focused on energy, natural resource, and agriculture interests. Bentley also served as the Director of National Affairs for the Colorado Farm Bureau, where her portfolio included energy, immigration, farm policy, and international trade. She was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission in 2015 and served until 2019, when she moved to the Permian Basin.

She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado State University, and prior to receiving her bachelor’s, Bentley worked in Washington, DC, for U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Bentley is a firm believer in community building community. She is on the board of directors for The Permian Basin Literacy Coalition, The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Texas 2036, and the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program. Bentley also sits on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of the Southwest and serves on the Selection Committee for Texan by Nature. She also serves West Texas CASA as a volunteer.

Bentley and her husband Mike have three grown children, twin daughters and a son.